Safov

Footnote: When I visited Safov in 1992, few traces of the former Jewish community remained
to be seen. Only a handful of houses remained standing, as well as one building that I was
told had once been the synagogue. Though there was no protective perimeter to prevent entry,
the cemetery had not been vandalized and appeared comparatively well cared for. I was told
that a group of Dutch students* come periodically to maintain it. I could not discover the
connection that these students may have to Safov.

John Schaffa

*Note: a subsequent visitor to Safov has written that the cemetery work was
performed not by Dutch students, rather by a group of Austrians from Langau (directly across
the unguarded border from Safov). Additionally, he wrote that the Langau priest, Andreas,
maintains a house in Safov for use as a school and that the priest has twice cleared the
cemetery. Father Andreas has been involved in writing a book (in German) about the town,
supplemented with research from the Wiesenthal Center in Vienna.